Today’s post is not your typical fashion blogger post… I’m venturing into the land of hormones. Or “hormonees” as Voula would say in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Love that movie!

Many of you know that I suffer from endometriosis. I’ve had it most likely since puberty, but wasn’t diagnosed until my 20’s. After my first laparoscopy surgery, my surgeon advised my only option to keeping the endometriosis at bay was to start birth control. So that’s exactly what I did. I had one more surgery after the initial, but other than that, the endometriosis hasn’t reared it’s ugly head.

Fast forward 7 years after beginning birth control, to this past January. I was experiencing migraine headaches as often as two times per week. My current OBGYN said we had no choice but to stop the birth control, he feared that I may stroke from the combination of the medication and the migraines. So that’s what we did.

I’m sharing the changes I’ve seen in my body since coming off birth control on the off chance that some of my Gorgeous readers are preparing to go through the same experience. This way, you can see what I’ve experienced personally and hopefully either prep you for what’s ahead or maybe feel a little better that you’re not alone. Obviously, I’m not a doctor. This is just what I’ve personally gone through and what has happened to my own body. If you have questions regarding your health or symptoms, be sure to contact your medical provider immediately.

A little background, I first started on Reclipsen and took this oral contraceptive for just over four years. I started experiencing some breakthrough bleeding and my OBGYN switch me to Yaz (I think). I last all of about 2-3 months on this stupid pill. It gave me horrible acne, mood swings and overall made me feel like crap. He then switched me to Nuvaring, which I stayed on up until this past January.

My 10 Symptoms after Coming off Birth Control:

Acne. Just so I’m clear, I’ve never had acne before in my life. I skipped that stage in my teenage years. I would get an occasional pimple here or there, specifically around/during my period. But nothing more than that. Now? Oh man, now I have regular zits in my hairline and chin. Apparently those two areas are the hormonal break out zones. I get the annoying little under-the-skin bumps as well as the cystic, nasty, need a cortisone shot monsters.

Blackheads. This would normally be lumped in with acne, but because I have so many, it needs to be it’s very own category. I’ve always had normal blackheads around my nose. Now I have them in excess everywhere. Even in my eyebrows. How does that even happen?!

Bacne. Again, should be lumped in with acne, but this one is also so major it needs it’s own category. I’ve never had a pimple, white head, blackhead, NOTHING on my neck or back in my life. The clear back days are a distant memory for me. At first I was literally covered from the nape of my neck to my tailbone. Now it’s just mainly around my shoulders. Even though it’s less, it’s still gross. I was getting multiple cystic acne spots on my back that freaking HURT. So painful and not pretty to look at. Of course this nastiness was at it’s all-time worst during summer. And why wouldn’t it be? My open-back tops were kept to a minimum.

Oil. As a teenager, I had oily skin. But that seems to be the norm. In my 20s, my oiliness evened out. Now the oil is back with a vengeance. My face could easily be considered an oil slick those first few months after birth control. Now, it’s evened out a bit, but still oilier than it was before.

Oily hair. I’ve always been able to go days in between washing my hair. My hormones decided to pay me back. At first, I didn’t link my oily hair to birth control. I couldn’t understand why all of a sudden, my hair needed to be washed almost every day, when my whole life I washed is 2 times per week. Even dry shampoo wouldn’t hold it over, it had to be washed at least every other day.

Hair loss. It’s normal to shed hair every day. I know this. But the amount of hair I lose now is insane. My hair is noticeably thinner around my temples. My hair is everywhere. It sheds and I don’t even know it. Talk about annoying. Oh and my baby hairs? It’s as if I grew a new set of bangs overnight. I can’t decide if this is new growth or breakage. Either way, my body somehow missed the memo that my bang days were over in the 7th grade.

Painful periods. I forgot what cramps were for the most part. Coming off birth control was a stark reminder of what life was like every single month in high school. I mean, I still had cramps even on birth control, but not the “call 911” type of cramps. They haven’t been quite that bad, but definitely worse than I’ve experienced in the past 7 years. I also noticed that my periods stayed on calendar with the same cycle I had while on the pill. I asked my doctor why I didn’t see a change and his response was that my body has changed since I first started the medication 7 years ago.

Headaches. This one is a major praise. Up until last week, I didn’t have a single migraine in 7 months. When I did get headaches, they were minor and rarely needed even a single Advil. I had my first migraine last week, but I was able to link it back to a new supplement I took (which states the side effect may be migraines) so I immediately stopped taking it.

Ovulation. I forgot that my body did that. After birth control, you are harshly reminded that this happens every month. The cramps were almost as bad my first few months after the pill as period cramps were. And man oh man, did I get breast pain during this monthly window. I’d never in my life experienced breast pain before this.

Sense of smell. At first, I thought I had to be pregnant. At certain times of the month, smells would make me so nauseous. I remember being in a car in New York back in March early in the morning. We had driven by a restaurant that was serving breakfast and I thought I was definitely going to vom over the egg smell. Matt thought I was off my rocker, but I couldn’t get the odor out of my nasal passages for miles. It was horrible. Even still, I’ll smell something that will literally smack me in the face and make me feel so sick, but no one else will notice it. And no, I’m not currently pregnant.

After all that complaining, the absence of my migraines makes all of the pain the butt symptoms worth it. Beyond worth it, actually. Migraines were ruling my life. Now they’re in the past, which is exactly where I plan to keep them.

How about you? What symptoms did you or are you experiencing after coming off birth control? Did you experience something I did? Or maybe everything I did? Or did you experience something totally different than I did? I’d love to hear from you! Also, let me know if I should do an updated post about what products I tried throughout this acne journey I’ve been on.

ONE OF THE FOLLOWING

70 comments

Oh man. It’s been awhile since I came off of birth control but at first I felt great because I kind of felt like it was making me blah. Then after about two months my anxiety kicked in full force. That was probably be worst part for me. I felt like the bc sort of helped it because the hormones make it worse but once I came off of it it was rough.
I’ve always had bad acne but coming off of it made it worse. Being pregnant tho made my skin wonderful. It’s just starting to break out again so I’d love to hear your thoughts on products. Fortunately so far it hasn’t been too bad so fingers crossed it stays that way!
Thanks for sharing 🙂

Oh girl I am going though the exact same thing! I went off bc after 7 years and have had horrible acne and bacne. I’ve always had clear skin so I had no idea what to do. I went to a dermatologist and she gave me a ton of products which have sort of helped but I have all those little underground bumps everywhere. I’m with ya!!

Thanks for sharing. Can’t imagine what it feels like to have migraines regularly. Glad you are feeling better since getting off birth control. When I stopped taking bc my acne and bacne came back with full vengeance. I thought I had left them behind in high school but nope!! The worst flare ups are during that time of the month. What do you use to treat dark spots and scars?
Xoxo

I was on birth control for three years after coming off of it I had bad migraines that would last for days. It was terrible! I also had really bad nausea my stomach would hurt for weeks at a time. I am happy to say these withdrawal symptoms I had went away. They did last for six months though and that time period was helll for me. I am so thankful I am back to normal. The only side effect I get anymore is sore breasts right before my period but that’s definitely something I can live with.

I’ve never been on birth control but I can definitely relate to the acne and back acne ???? I, as well, never experience any of that as a teenager and as a 25 year old in the professional field it is definitely not fun! Have you found any products that worked?? I’m not having much luck finding anything….

Girl you should give TactuPump/Epiduo a try. I developed adult cystic acne from my bc and it was so embarrassing. I actually would just sit and cry in front of my mirror because NOTHING (I tried everything, every old wives tale, every lotion claiming it would help, every special oil, prescription pills, I spent so much money) was working and I was too scared to try acutane.
My doctor prescribed TactuPump to me and it literally was a miracle. I didn’t have an initial breakout though it made my skin dry and flaky for a week or two. You have to be patient (which I know is hard) cause it takes a month to start being super effective but if you stick with it, it’s the best thing ever. My skin was literally perfect after two months.

I’m actually on Epiduo right now! How often are you using it? I’ve gotten mixed direction- my dermatologist suggested using all over my face and neck every 2-3 nights but my facialist here in Vancouver suggested only spot treating with it…

My doctor has me on Epiduo right now for my face and two different prescriptions for my back and both are really clearing up. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m finally getting all the meds out of my system or if it’s the new products working…

Yeah my doctor here in Calgary told me just to use it on my problem areas at night. I agree with him though, I never really saw the point of using it on my entire face and causing that initial dryness in areas that didn’t need it. For the first six months I used a pea sized amount everyday..it cleared up way faster than six months but I was so scared of it coming back that I kept up the every day treatment. After six months though I started to test using it less and less and so far it’s all stayed away. Its awesome too when a little spot shows up I start using it again and it disappears in a flash. Seriously love it

While I’ve never gone through the birth control “withdrawal,” I’ve been told it does actually make you feel better.
I do understand the migraine situation though. Mine are horrible during my period. I have one that lasts about 2 days before until the end of my period. I have them at other times as well. We are still trying to find the cause of mine.
I wish you all the luck!

I got off birth control after being on it for 2 years and the only symptom I had, which was apparently a normal one, was horrible horrible cramps. They were so bad I would start shaking and crying. They would happen on and off at the exact same spot. It finally stopped after a few weeks but oh man did they hurt. I felt like I was having contractions lol great post though! I hope your symptoms go away soon! Xoxo

Wow that’s intense! I was only on a pill for about 3 months. At first I LOVED it bc my moods were normal, cramps were light and I loved not having to schedule my life around those 3 periods. But I had a constant issue after so I stopped taking them. I think about getting back on, but don’t do it bc I’m worried what would happen getting off of them.
So anyway, I am now hormonal and break out in darn pimples ever since I moved down south. I use pure lavender oil and Peppermint oil directly on the pimps on my face 😀 seems to help! I don’t want to dry out my skin with other products.

I personally probably never would’ve gone on birth control had I had the choice. I’m just the type of person who doesn’t want to put unnecessary meds in my body. You gotta do what’s best for you though!

I am sorry you have to experience all this it does not sound fun. I went of birth control after being on or for a year and did not experience any symptoms except for spur of the moment nose bleeds while on it.. I have been reading up on endiometrosis because of shooting pains that I have always had in the lower stomach area.

I experience breast pain and I recently went to a specialist. It was recommended that I try taking 1000mg of evening primrose oil each day (I get these in capsule form from Holland and Barrett). This can take 3 months to have any effect but I thought it was worth a try. It hasn’t made a difference yet but I’m not at the 3 month mark! If you can’t tolerate oil of evening primrose then you can use star flower oil instead. Hope this helps someone!

I’ve only been on it about a month so far. There has been no change as of yet, but I’ll give it a good 6 months to see if I can see any, and if not, I might try the star flower oil. I think the pain is related to my menstrual cycle so maybe it won’t work. Who knows. I’ll keep you guys updated!

I’m so sorry to hear about the crazy experience of coming off birth control. I’ve heard many similar stories but also have heard many incredibly redemptive stories of going from birth control to Progessence Plus serum from Young Living Essential Oils. Have you heard of it? If not I HIGHLY recommend you look into it. It’s completely all natural so there are no fowl side effects & all you do is dab a drop or two on your wrists or neck each day. Since using it, I’ve had the best periods of my life and have had friends who have cleared up their acne and calmed crazy mood swings. One of my family members was on birth control for 20 years before using Progessence Plus and she loves the P+ so much because it does what the Progessence did without harming the body and better.

I really hope this might be able to help you considering how much you’ve been able to help me! Feel free to email me if you have any questions or want some links to more research than what you can find. I’m also a Young Living Distributor myself so if you need help figuring out how to get it or anything, let me know!

I just went off of my birth control about a month ago and it sucks!!! THE WORST PERIOD OF MY LIFE! Best way to describe it is that my lady parts had the flu. I was so achy and crampy and it hurt so much to walk! I had acne before birth control but no where near as bad as it is now. I would love to hear about the products your using! My skin was also oily before bc and now it’s so much worse!

Since I was about 15 I’ve always had hormonal issues because of PCOS. I was on the pill as a teenager, but also tried so many other treatments. In the process I suffered from acne and it was so bad…

About 2 years ago I started questioning all the negative effects that birth control has. I decided that it was time to stop taking BC, but I WAS TERRIFIED that I was going to be back to acne, no periods, medicine to get my period, medicine to stop my period, so many things that were just awful.

I do get more acne than I used to while on BC, but nothing as traumatizing as when I was young, and it is because of NFP.
At about the same time, I discovered Natural Family Planning, specifically the Creighton Model, that comes with Nanotechnology.
Doing that has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. Slowly, I’m getting better without adding to my body artificial hormones. Yes, I still have PCOS, but it is for sure getting better. I do have confidence that in time, I will ovulate every month, that my body will produce enough progesterone.

I wish you all the best in your journey off the pill. You’ll see how it is for the best!

I love these posts!! Thank you for sharing this. Ive been on birth control for almost 5 years and have been thinking of going off, but I’m extremely nervous for the repercussions since it’s what my body is used to. So good to know what lies ahead so I can be prepared. THANK YOU Angela! all your posts are great, but please More like this!

I came off BC almost 10 years ago but am glad I did. I definitely have hair thinning and an increased sense of smell, but the biggest thing was the acne- cysts and white heads galore. My doctor finally started me on spironolactone which is usually used for blood pressure and occasionally heart failure. It happens to be an androgen blocker too though so it was decreasing the testosterone overload I was having after stopping BC. I’ve tapered down to a very low dose but haven’t had a single zit in almost 4 years which is awesome since I’ve battled acne since puberty. If you don’t find any creams that work it’s worth asking your doctor about. Downside- its a diuretic and will make you pee more!

Beautiful outfit Angela. You are wonderful and so brave telling your story on your blog and when going through difficult times of example family loss things can flare up.

Yes I mentioned before I suffer from Endometriosis also but now I am almost 48yr and my periods sometimes disappear for 4 or 5 months at a time but I still get very painful periods always a lot more painful on my left side next to my ovary where I had an ovarian cyst when I was 34yr that’s also when I found out my fallopean tubes were blocked and after trying for children for 10 years was told I could not have any naturally. Unfortunately at the time I split from my then husband so never got the chance to try the IVF route. Now with my fiance Chris we know we will never have any children even through IVF as I have passed the maximum age for that.

Exercise does help the pain and that is one reason why I teach fitness classes and keep myself fit as much as I can. I don’t eat a lot of starchy food either.

At the moment my mum has been in and out of hospital then a care home and now back home until sheltered housing can be found, she has never looked after herself and I have always tried to be there for her. I am the only child and she only has one sister left alive, she is going through a terrible time and forgetting a lot of things and also been very agressive, at the moment I am leaving things in the care of her doctor and social worker as the stress this caused last year was bad and I almost lost my full time job because of it. Yes I have one of those boses who is may I say it (Absolute Witch)!! 🙂

You are an amazing woman Angela and an inspiration 🙂 Well lunch time over I better get on with things. Take Care and say hello to Matt 🙂 xxxx

I am so glad to hear someone else can relate to this! In December I came off of birth control after.being on yaz for 9 years! My migraines got worse and worse until they were happening multiple times a week and were ruining my quality of life. Came off the medication but was left with breakouts which I have also never had before in my life. Ever. It has been ten months now and I am wondering when the check this is all going to taper off. Thank you for being real and writing about real experiences!

I remember having awfully painful cramps when I came off birth control! I haven’t been on it now for 6 years and we have a 3 year old and a little one that will be 1 on October 20! And that’s the worst thing after having a baby…the hair loss and baby hairs growing back are horrendous! Lol And of coarse it’s all along the hairline but now the hairs are finally getting longer but so awkward for the first bit. I’ve also just finished breastfeeding so just got my first period and find the cramps maybe don’t seem so bad after the second baby. Here’s to hoping it stays that way!
Does your endometriosis seem any better? I have a couple friends that have it bad and I had them try some essential oils and some of them have found they’ve helped quite a bit, be worth a try if you were looking for something to try!

I have the same problem as you. I went off birth control last month after having terrible migraines. I have a heart problem so they were worried I would have a stroke if I kept taking it. Since going off it I’ve had bad acne around the chin. And the periods are so much worse. I’ve been using Biore products for months and its working wonders on my skin. Thanks for writing about this, its a very real subject that lots of girl need to talk about 🙂

Late post. But I just came across your blog recently. I appreciate your openness and honesty. I tired BC 2 different times totaling about a year. Both times I was an emotional nut case with very little stability. The smallest things would set me off and I became very depressed. It was not a good decision to go on. After my husband found me at home an emotional disaster in the fetal position for no good reason we decided it was time to leave the BC behind us. This was about 2 month into our marriage. Since we weren’t ready for children yet, my SIL introduced me to the Lady Comp. A computer in which you take your temperature every morning and it gives you a red, yellow or green light. Tracks your cycles and tells you when you ovulate. If you get the Baby one it can tell you if you are pregnant. I have been using it for over 5 years and it is 100% effective for us. (I have been in school so it was good to avoid pregnancy). My SIL on the other hand, after being told she would never have kids used it in the opposite way and now has 3 chikdren all about 2 years apart. For her it was timing. I love not having to put extra chemicals and hormones into my body and even though I can still have crippling cramps and horrible acne (I am not blessed with nice skin and have yet to find something affordable that works) it is totally worth it.
My LadyComp and my Diva cup have become good/natural (does that work…can I say that?) Options. Highly recommend both.

Oh man, do I relate to this post. I had been on birth control pills for about 8 months when I started getting migraines. They brought me to tears and no pain killers would touch them.. I thought I was dying lol. And they got more and more frequent and I finally stopped taking the birth control. Chronic migraines run in my family, and I still have about 3-4 migraines each month, but it has improved so much now that I’m not on the pill – since hormones seem to be such a trigger for me. This was so eye-opening though – I too have always had very dry hair and skin, and never had pimples through my teenage years, but suddenly, the oil and the bacne is a problem for me too. I never related that to the change in hormones, but it really makes sense! Has this since cleared up for you? Hoping mine goes away!! And in case you do read this, just wantsd to say that I always love your blog and your videos. Your blog posts are always relatable and your writing style makes it a fun read. And Im sure you hear this all of the time.. but you have really been an inspiration to me personally. You were the first blogger I started following religiously, and you are the one who inspired me to create a beauty instagram with the goal of having a blog or youtube account someday soon. I love that you are so close to your hubby and how you support eachother, and also that you are concerned with your relationship with God. I think we would get along well 😉

Thank you for this post! I am about to start the process of going off of birth control. Like you said in a comment above I just don’t want to be taking medicine daily unless it is absolutely necessary. Did your doctor give you any idea of if these symptoms would go on forever or only last for a certain amount of time? I’m nervous to stop but I feel much more informed now after reading your post. You rock!

I was on birth control years ago and everything was fine but I know for a fact that once you stop the pill us women well most start to have acne because the pill helps with break outs but once off the pill you’re body has to adjust to the way it was before birth control I’m sorry I know it’s a pain but you’re body will regulate it’s just going to take time being that you were on the pill for years. Hope this makes sense ❤️

Hi Angela, I haven’t been on birth control but I had a relationship breakup about 6 months ago and my hair was falling out in handfuls. It is also very thin around the temples. I have been taking Hair, Skin and Nails tablets which contain zinc, biotin, vitamin c etc. Has anyone ever tried this for hair loss and does it make a difference?

My symptoms are so similar. I have two children 10.5 months apart, so I spent what felt like 2 years pregnant. I went back on birth control, because I didn’t want to be pregnant for 3 years lol. Last summer I went off birth control, we were going to try for baby #3. The acne break out has been so horrible. My face is normally pretty clear and nice. Around the time of going off the pill, I had also bought the Kat Von D contour palette. Your contour videos inspired me to start contouring. My break outs where all where I was putting the contour. So I thought maybe I was having a reaction. So I let my face have a break from makeup. It didn’t work. Every morning I woke up with more painful pimples. After a few months of trying to get pregnant, we decided to take a break. I am back on birth control, but on the mini pill. I am trying to lose weight before we try again. Since being back on the pill, my face have cleared up. I just have red marks from the ones I picked. I can’t help it, I am a picker/popper. So any tips on how you have been able to keep your symptoms/acne at bay, would be awesome. I am a little nervous now to go off the pill again. I don’t like the break outs.

So this is a long time but I’ve been on BC for 18 years since after the birth of my second child but I always got migraines before I was on the pill. Then I went on the pill and would only get a migraine during the placebo (sugar pill) week. So I have just recently switched (per doctors recommendations) to skip the placebo week and start a new pill pack after the third week thus not having a period and I haven’t had a migraine in 4 months since switching to this method. It’s working so far.

I wish I found this post 6 months ago when I decided to go off BC. I had been on it for 10 years and was concerned about what I was putting in my body. Within 5 days of being off it I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible cramps. Apparently this is ovulation. I, too, had cystic acne on my back around my shoulders, to the point where I started cancelling my regular massages because I was so self conscious. My hair began falling out but eventually regulated again. The positive was that my libido sky-rocketed lol. After speaking with my doctor, I ultimately went back on BC after about 4 months off. For me the benefits outweighed the cons. I especially didn’t like not knowing when my period would come – on BC it’s like clockwork. Plus I’m single so I didn’t want to have to worry about anything if I ever manage to find someone who wants to date me again. Thanks for keeping it real.

I came off the pill 4 months ago and I experienced several symptoms. I experienced blurred vision, numbness in hands and legs, heartburn, muscle soreness, right side of the abdomen discomfort, ovulation pain, backache, eye twitching, lost weight (6 pounds), sore breast, stomach cramps, super dry skin, sleeping problems, among others. My period have been very precise and on point. I don’t have most of these symptoms anymore. Right now I’m only struggling with right side pain and sore muscles and numbness, especially on the legs. Its quite a ride and I’m hopeful I’m gonna be better soon.

I went on and off birth control quite a lot the past few years, mostly because I couldn’t affort it, and my worst experience: Acne. I had the occasional pimple now and then, but sometimes I don’t want to leave my flat without makeup (and I don’t wear make-up on a daily basis). But I also had terrible Migraines on birth control, but I had and have headaches on a regular level, I learned to live with them, though they are really not cool.I hope my skin conditions are getting better with time, ‘cuz I really don’t want to get on birth control again if it’s not necessary for other reasons.

Angela I found your blog from watching your husbands series Timeless and love you both!! I have been on Lolo hormone pills for 2 months now for my pimples and am just starting to notice a difference. I loved reading this post because I totally gag at certain smells but often find myself not needing to shower everyday anymore! So sad to hear about your endometriosis story 😔 I just learned about that in my Bio 12 class 🙈 God bless!
XO Marley
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